New found respect for Canon F-1 now that I bought FM3a

[steveyork]

All those early 70's cameras -- Nikon F2, Leicaflex SL, Minolta SRTs, Canon F1 and Ftb -- are about 750 grams for the body alone. Very little plastic; great, big viewfinders.

My favorite of the bunch is the Leicaflex SL, but they are (obviously) all capable of taking great pictures. And unlike rangefinders, most are relatively inexpensive today. No reason not to have one of each, or two, or three or four ….

 

[Archlich]

If a brick is more preferable just fill the camera with lead...sand won't cut it, since it's not metal.

I still feel the FM3a is sort of heavy (especially with the 300g+ ZF glasses). Maybe my neck is too thin.

 

[Huss]

i find the F3 much more satisfying to use than the FM3A. It is better built, has a tighter meter pattern (80/20 vs 60/40), and a larger 100% vf.
But the killer bit is they also are much cheaper. About 1/2 the cost for a same condition one. Suck though (in comparison) if you want to use flash.

 

[ptpdprinter]

The "problem" with the F3 (and FE) is that without batteries, the camera only works manually at 1/80th. The claim to fame of the FM3a is that without batteries it operates manually at all shutter speeds. In that sense the FM3a operates as both an FM and an FE.

 

[Daryl J.]

The F1 is a great SLR.
Now to de-yellow my 2/35mm Convex Thorium SSC.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Put a motor drive on, and don't over think it.